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Redbud VC Fund II

United States
Pre Seed
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About Redbud VC Fund II

Columbia, Missouri-based pre-seed and seed fund backing "outsider founders" — first-time entrepreneurs, immigrants, and Midwest builders. 5x step-up from Fund I ($5M), which delivered 48% IRR and 1.7x TVPI. Formerly known as Scale VC.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionUnited States
Funding StagePre Seed
Industry Focus
Ai Ml
Deep Tech
Fintech
Prop Tech
Saas

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Resilient outsider founder, any geography, first-check to pre-seed

outsider-founders
pre-seed-global
immigrant-founders
first-time-entrepreneurs
resilience-first

Bullish Signals

Fund II closed at $25M — 5x step-up backed by actual 48% IRR track recordblog
Co-investors include Sequoia and Y Combinator following Redbud into portfolio companiesblog
1,500 founder calls per year signals exceptional sourcing depth for fund sizeblog
21% DPI on a pre-seed fund of this vintage is rare — real capital returned to LPsblog
$150M raised via network for 44 portfolio companieswebsite
500+ intros secured; 20+ avg in first 6 monthswebsite
First institutional check in 60%+ of portfoliowebsite
OneImaging raised $38M follow-on — portfolio breakout signalwebsite
15,000+ newsletter readers — strong founder community flywheelwebsite
61% first-time entrepreneurs, 45% immigrants in portfoliowebsite
12 new investments annually — consistent deployment cadencewebsite
Direct operator support from billion-dollar company builderswebsite
Columbia, MO has one of world's highest billion-dollar companies per capitawebsite
Redbud ethos: different perspective, values, network, hustle, humilitywebsite

Contrarian Signals

Small fund size creates structural limits on pro rata and follow-on reservesblog
Explicitly rejects coastal-pedigree pattern-matching — Stanford/YC bias a dealbreakerblog
Generalist mandate — no sector focus may dilute expertisewebsite
Columbia, MO HQ — limited tier-1 metro deal flow accesswebsite

Founder Do's

Pitch directly — no intro required, open to anyone
Highlight first-time founder, immigrant, or Midwest roots
Raise first-check to pre-seed; $150K checks confirmed
Emphasize resilience, struggle, and grit in story
Leverage network access — 500+ intros, 20+ avg in first 6 months

Founder Don'ts

Don't pitch post-seed — too late stage
Don't rely on coastal pedigree or formal education as signal
Don't expect industry-specific thesis fit — generalist, resilience-first

Key GPs & Partners

BC
Brett Calhoun
Managing General Partner
fast-movermetrics-drivencommunity-builder
WS
Willy Schlacks
General Partner
ex-founderhands-oncontrarian
JS
Jabbok Schlacks
General Partner
ex-founderhands-onthesis-driven

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Fund Overview

Fund Size$25M
Saves0
Website
LinkedIn

Key People

Brett Calhoun, Willy Schlacks, Jabbok Schlacks

Brett CalhounManaging General Partner
Willy SchlacksGeneral Partner
Jabbok SchlacksGeneral Partner

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